Tripped Up By Details

Look at all of those shoppers. [We'll pause here, so that you can take in the sea of humanity out there. Each person is on a journey and some of them are searching for something important. ​Some may even be searching for a wedding gown.]

Now imagine that each of them has an opinion, because they do, whether they mean to affect your opinions or not.

Shopping is personal. Shopping for a wedding dress is deeply personal, and can be fraught with landmines. In that spirit, we at BT want to share a scenario in the hope that it will help you brides out there - and those of you who accompany her - when you come to our boutique or other reputable wedding gown shop.

The Issue

Often brides come to us with their cherished friends, bridesmaids, and family to help provide counsel and energy during the "trying on" process. We encourage this, because support is important. There is boning and structure in a gown, so why not have support from your friends??

What we worry about as business owners are the unexpected comments and the fall out that they bring. It happens, ladies! But it doesn't have to happen to you. 

We've heard of, and even seen ourselves, brides who fall in love with a gown only to abandon it when someone makes an off-hand comment about an element of the gown. The sleeves are a "different" length. Maybe the dress features a drop waist or interesting lace patterns, embellishments or a style that not everyone in the party agrees on. It's to be expected. But when those comments derail a bride from her choice, it can feel defeating.
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The good news is that there are helpful things to remember as a bride AND as a member of her entourage.

Things to Think About

stock photo: not our bride!

• ​Bring good friends who you can trust to be supportive. They need to know when to read your excitement about a dress and watch making remarks (insensitive, ill-informed, even accidentally off-hand remarks) that confuse the process.
• Just because one of your girlfriends/family members/bridesmaids has good taste and "knows fashion," that doesn't mean this day is about her. It's about you. It's your gown and your day.
• Dear Entourage: If you see a bride is feeling good in her gown and loves it, keeps trying it on, is getting excited about it: celebrate with her! Learn to read body language and if she's happy, then it's a done deal. The bride's feelings about a dress carry ALL the weight. 
• Be gentle with your observations. Unless a bride has given you veto power - AND SHE SHOULDN'T - offer helpful, thoughtful and loving commentary.

You don't have to buy your gown at BT, but we are always honored to serve this particular brides whether they know what they want or are still searching. The shopping part of the wedding should be as fun and uplifting (for everyone) as possible. Celebrate together! Everybody wins that way.